November-December - The Gospel Magazine

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The Gospel Magazine
burn me, because I am surrounded with them." O, but Christ knows
how to burn the sins of His people, and save them. And He knows
how to make them understand that He has put their sins away, and
they themselves are His. They are His beloved, His only beloved, dear
to Him, so dear to Him in eternity that He came in time to save them.
II Yea, He is altogether lovely
His whole Person, not His mouth only, which communicates, but
His entire Person is lovely. The unsearchable riches of Christ you
cannot trace completely. Describe them as you can, you cannot fully
trace them out.
Look at His Person-O, if we could but know that more! Hart has
a beautiful word about this:
O could we but with clearer eyes
His excellencies trace,
Could we His Person learn to prile,
We more should prize His grace.
The Person of Jesus Christ is none other than God in our
nature-two becoming one. "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is
given;" and these are not two, according to Scripture, but one. "And
His Name." the Name of Him who is the Child born and the son
given, "shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His
government and peace there shall be no end." Jesus Christ in the
sinner's place. Jesus Christ altogether lovely, because sent by His
Father, a perfect Person. Did you ever a little trace by faith the
loveliness of Christ's Person-all divine excellencies and perfections,
all the beauty of human nature in its innocence, combined in Him,
shining in Him? All that a Representative needs to be, He is; all that a
Sin-bearer needs to be, He is. All that a Mediator between God and
men must be, Christ is. This is the Person: is He lovely to you? to me?
We look at our depravity, and can scarcely bear the sight of it; we
look at our sinful ways till we are sick of looking at them. But when
the eye of faith is turned away for a short time to look at this lovely
One, this blessed One, whom the Father praises, who is "fairer than
the children of men," into whose lips grace is poured; then we see One
who can cover our vileness, take away all our defects, and
communicate His worthiness to us. So that when the Father says of
Him, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," He can
look on a multitude, a mighty multitude, "which no man could
number," and say, "These are My sons, and I am pleased with them;"
pleased with them because they are in Him.